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Wesley Mercer

Wesley Mercer

The idea of his personal assistant playing professional Quidditch placed last on the list of things that Wesley liked. He despised the thought of it. Resented Dahlberg for getting him accustomed to a life where he was somehow a functional human being because she was the one managing his life, came up with excuses to get him out of meetings he didn’t want to attend despite his presence being essential to settling contracts, most importantly kept him from making stupid, regretful life choices. Despite his initial reluctance, Wesley gave Leslie Dahlberg the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to hold a position in an international corporation without any references or prior experience and for the former Gryffindor to toss up the opportunity to work fulltime, on a set salary and extravagant bonuses for a sport baffled him. It baffled him how someone who could have the world would rather pursue a career to become a professional athlete. She would make more money in a year at MI than she would as a quidditch star.

But Leslie refused to see that and so, Wesley devised a plan. Unbeknownst to the recent graduate, Wesley’s sudden change of heart in regards to the pro-quid subject, had an ulterior motive. He’d agreed to become her agent not to ensure that she was given a spot in one of the best teams in the league, on a proper salary, and long term contract, but to sabotage any opportunity she had to have just that. He’d seen her play, he knew that without his interference she could make it onto almost any team. Wesley wasn’t about that life. He also wasn’t one to take chances and let Leslie do this all on her own (and sit back as she succeeded) so he had to get in touch with as many people as possible in order to ensure that things ended up going his way.

The problem with that however, was that he didn’t know many professional quidditch players. The only person he knew that could potentially help him was Lilia (whom he hadn’t seen or spoken to in years) and even then, she only served useful when it came to the Harpies. He supposed it was better than nothing. Desperate times called for desperate measures and he managed to contact her and got her to meet him at the L-Squared under the pretense that he wanted to catch up with old friends. Fix ties, set things right. That sort of thing. Women always fell for sentimental rubbish, after all.

“Lilia! Hey…” he greeted, offering her the seat he’d been saving at the bar beside him. “Didn’t think you’d show up.”

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Lilia McEvans

Lilia McEvans

The device buzzed, annoyingly throwing a tantrum as it danced upon the counter-top. The blonde, focused on other matters, paid no mind and it wasn’t until another picked it up and teased her about the contact that caught her attention.

“Who’s Wesley?” There was a hint of suspicion in their tone mixed with amusement.

Mankind was always so nosy. “An old,” Lilia paused. How exactly did she describe Wesley? Selfish, needy, but those two words were representations of the image he formed to hide deeper insecurities within. That was years ago and the blonde had realized the probability of the male changing was highly probable. Whether it was for the better or worse, that was none of her concern. With all of her heart, she prayed it was for the better. School wasn’t some people’s thing and that was perfectly alright. Some environments brought out the worst and others the best.

“Friend,” The label was the best she could come up with, but at least it stopped the other from continuing to pry. Shrugging the matter off shortly, the former Ravenclaw skimmed over the important parts.

L-Squared, a location she was quite embarrassingly familiar with.A time, implying her former classmate wanted to meet up – that was also fine.The most important - an invitation followed by unnecessary sweet talk.

Lilia’s green eyes squinted in thought and her brain set off red flag alarms. Without a doubt, there was definitely an ulterior motive to this little maneuver.

The edges of her lips turned slightly upward. Wes’s first mistake was to assume those words were effective against her and while they were, she was the wrong target. (Shame on you simple-minded easily-swindled folk.) Being exposed to various sorts of manipulation tactics allowed one to see patterns and furthermore, predict developments. It became easy to tie two-and-two together. Life wasn’t meant to be simple; rather, humans weren’t meant to be simple, but oh how she wished both were. Though, if this was the case, living would be less enjoyable.

The satisfying part of this opportunity was the non-work appropriate section of her wardrobe. Very rarely did the girl go out anymore so it came as no surprise when cobwebs decorated the attire here and there. That poor, neglected dress could finally have its time in the limelight.

The former Prefect very nearly fell out of the chair as she stared at Wes in disbelief. “What, you think I’d ditch you and let you stay here all by yourself?”Therewas no other words to describe her expression other than pure shock. “That seems a little too mean, even for me.”

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Wesley Mercer

Wesley Mercer

A small smile quirked the corner of his lips at the other’s comment, “Well… do you want the short list or the long?” He was joking but there was a time when the two were dating when Lilia put Elliot at a higher priority and even if that wasn’t technically true, to Wesley it always appeared as such. Second best to an attention seeking first year with a crush but that was years ago; eight years ago to be exact. Tonight however, wasn’t meant to be a trip down memory lane, and the last thing he wanted was relive certain aspects of the past eight years since the two had any form of relationship. They were friends? Maybe… It was complicated. Wesley didn’t do complicated anymore.

“I’ll pass,” he informed, “I had a few drinks before you got here so I’m good for the next twenty minutes or so.” He also made a note to keep the rambling to a usual amount before casually dropping in the true purpose for this meeting. The last thing he needed was for Lilia to be suspicious that something was going on, though he knew her well enough to know that she was likely already suspicious. All he had to do was refrain from doing anything that could confirm the suspicions to be true. At least not right away.

“I see you know the bartender by name,” Wesley pointed out, sparking a casual conversation. “They upgraded the staff at least. Last I heard Devereaux was running around this place and well, what does Ajax Devereaux know about a place like this. So how’s it been? Are you still playing Quidditch? For the Harpies? Professionally?” He stalled for time, trying to figure out how to incorporate the whole ‘I need a favor’ thing. “Listen, I need a favor… it’s not for me but I need a favor.”

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Lilia McEvans

Lilia McEvans

In a timely fashion, the glasses appeared and the blonde peered at them curiously. The plan was to always stay hydrated with a little fun tossed in the mix, but the more time passed, the more it was actually very clever. Should she feel like laughing at any point or needed to conceal or force laughter, Lilia could very easily take a sip. After all, giggle water was exactly like its namesake. Whoever invented the beverage was a genius; wizarding world drinks were always so innovative. How fascinating!

“Either one, that is, should you choose to expand,” the blonde retaliated, grinning. Fully expecting the brunette to relent, the small victory was very nearly in her hands. She could almost taste it (Lilia 1, Wesley 0). Au contraire to Wesley’s straightforward lifestyle, Lilia was crowned queen in that realm. It was almost as if they switched roles a few years back. The blonde was the one that drifted, constant only in her responsibilities to tasks rather than people and locations. There was mystery to her lifestyle, one that constantly unnerved her. Where would she go next? What opportunities were always awaiting her? Would those close to her unintentionally hurt her?

Lilia coughed, downing a good fraction of the beverage in an attempt to feign thirst. “I’m here way too much than I care to admit,” She laughed, “Devereaux? Like Ajax?” After confirmation that the two were talking about the same person, the former eagle continued. “He doesn’t do too well in high end places. He wanted to meet up this one time and I very nearly lost him en route to said destination.” Clearly it was of his own individual abilities rather than the long, wearisome path itself. Trails were consistent, humans weren’t. “Oh and let’s not start on his fight with the menu. Let’s just say the menu won,”

Anyways, “I do,” Another sip. “Haha, I am affiliated with the Harpies and yes, we still have our professional status. You’re so mean; did you invite me here just to make fun of my team? We may not be the best team and win all the time, but we’re decent and put up a good fight,” The girl pouted, indicated to Emmett to switch up her order to one that was similar, but different all the same. See there: a perfect example of her perplexing actions. Poor guy looked so confused, but that escaped her attention.

And there came the ulterior motive both parties were expecting. “A favour?” Lilia paused, “Go on,” What’s up your sleeve Wes?

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Wesley Mercer

Wesley Mercer

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, realizing that this was an occasion of challenge extended and it was one Lilia considered herself to have already won. Challenge accepted; Wesley had an arsenal of bullets on that list. “There was that one time when we were in that classroom and Elliot appeared — and you left me for Elliot. Then there was that other time when Elliot… and then that other time because of Elliot. Elliot. Elly.” Despite how many years passed, the dislike for his former mentee remained, if anything saying the name all over again fueled the hatred.

How was that for Wesley 1, Lilia 0?

“I don’t believe you, I’m here all the time,” Wesley commented, thinking back if on any occasion he might have seen the blonde and never noticed that it was actually his former classmate. “If I ever went missing, the first place you should check is here. Want to know a fun fact? This property was on the list of potential investments for Mercer Industries but we passed on it. I guess you could say I’m a little jealous of the success.” The other fun fact was that all staff was somehow a part of the Wizard World — how else could Logan get away with spiking drinks with wizard liquor prior to being served to muggles.

“I’m not surprised the menu won. Ajax Devereaux wouldn’t know the difference between Vuitton and Louboutin much less fine dining.” Still, he wasn’t here to talk about Ajax’s incompetence, Ajax’s lack of culture or knowledge of fine things, or Ajax in general. He was irrelevant; an insignificant blip on his radar that 99.9% of the time Wesley failed to notice he was there.

“A favor,” Wesley reiterated. “Yes. You see, there’s this Gryffindor, a recent Hogwarts grad and former captain. And friends do favors for each other, right? I was wondering if you could maybe pull some strings and help me so I can help her tryout for the team? You don’t have to let her on the team… just you know maybe see if she has potential to make it with the pros?” He purposefully left out the fact where Wesley preferred it if Leslie didn’t make the team and was told that she was the worst quidditch player in the history of quidditch players so she’d drop the dream and sign the damn contract.

Edited 11 January 2017, 05:16 pm by Wesley Mercer

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Lilia McEvans

Lilia McEvans

Her tongue clicked thoughtfully, padding against the roof of her mouth. The male was stuck on one point that formed the basis of his argument. One that was no longer applicable, one that was irrelevant as far as she was concerned. Elliot was friendly, as was Wesley himself. Why did friendly clash with friendly? The blonde simply did not understand.

“So, let me get this right. You were (are?) hurt because I left you for family?” the blonde asked, clearly perplexed. “Yet you were fine when I was in Mel’s company, or Olliver’s even. Hell, I spent more time with the two of them combined on the Quidditch team and in the common room than with your fellow Slytherin?”

Send help SOS.

“I’m usually with a group of people and we’re most often on the dance floor, if that’s a factor,” she shrugged casually. “It’s also very likely that we miss each other, which happens. It’s fine,” Besides, it’s not like her to go out of her way specifically to look for someone. Especially someone that was barely a speck relevant to her current lifestyle. If the question was reversed, Lilia barely occupied any one of Wesley’s thoughts. If the two were interrogated in the same vicinity, both would likely agree there were other priorities to take care of. Wesley owned a business and Lilia had commitments.

As a defensive mother eagle, Lilia was on the verge of making a comment such as “C’mon, he’s not that bad.” However, was there really anything to defend, especially if it was the truth? It wasn’t like Ajax was actually there in their presence. A little humor was necessary, even if it was at his expense. It was light hearted, not at all intention.

The next part though caught her completely off guard. Well, not really all that off guard as Wesley always had a thing with Gryffindors. The former Ravenclaw was about to fire back something along the lines of “What’s with you and Gryffindors” before completely losing the statement upon hearing the key words: quidditch captain. Huh.

Wesley was asking her to let a newbie onto her team. A new recruit that was willing to come play for them without a second thought. They wouldn’t even have to compete with the other professional teams for new members! And the best part was, it’d be a former quidditch captain so clearly she knew her snitch. Was there any flaws to this request? Oh wait yes there was.

Wesley was asking.

“She probably would. I’ll reach out and see where she stands on things,” Lilia tossed both her magical and muggle devices at the brunette. “Is she better reached via muggle or magical means?” And while Wesley was doing that, the female made a dash for the dance floor right before, “Don’t go through my messages. Or contacts. Or my schedule. JUST DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING. Thanks.”

Edited 11 January 2017, 11:51 pm by Lilia McEvans

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Wesley Mercer

Wesley Mercer

Wesley raised a curious eyebrow at Lilia’s remark about his thing with Gryffindors. Perhaps there was a bit of truth to the idea that Wesley was drawn like a moth to a flame to those from the house of gold and scarlet — Anna (the enemy turned snog-buddy turned roommate turned whatever she was now), Rettie (the best friend turned girlfriend turned fiancé who left him at the altar), and now Leslie Dahlberg, the personal assistant who had zero time to deal with Wesley’s issues and turned out to not be as incompetent as he originally thought her to be — but that was irrelevant at the moment.

“I’m not dating her, if that’s what you’re trying to imply,” Wesley informed, slightly appalled by the thought of it. To him, Dahlberg was like a younger cousin — but not the kind of younger cousin that you didn’t mind playing childish games with but the kind of younger cousin that you only dealt with because everyone else in your age group was busy elsewhere. “I’m not dating any Gryffindors… nope. No Gryffindors for me. That was a thing of the past. No Gryffindors in my romantic life — yours?”

Now, Ravenclaws… Ravenclaws there was one; one who Wesley was definitely developing some form of attachment to but he couldn’t exactly talk about that with Lilia. Besides she probably already knew — Melissa and her were the closests of friends after all.

Taking both devices, he stared at the magical device for a long moment confused as to what the hell he was supposed to do with it. “Thanks but no thanks, my hair looks flawless already.” Perhaps to some wizards a cellphone was a peculiar device but to Wesley, the peculiar device was the two-way mirror. “I’ll give you the number to the line only I have access to. That way she answers — just don’t call her after two in the morning, that’s when I’m trying to get a hold of her to come pick me up from this place…Lilia?” Rolling his eyes, he indicated for Emmett to get him another drink: “You know which one — the toxic waste.”

Seeing Lilia like that was odd, seeing her enjoy herself on the dance floor was something Wesley never expected to see. He supposed they both had changed since fifth year, perhaps if he’d done the mature thing to make amends sooner he would have known there was more to Lilia than what he thought he knew. “Emmett, make that two… and before you ask they’re both for me.”